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Tak
Tak (Tak: nTaah ƿɛRmmp But ('The Free States of Tak')) is a federative nation on the continent of Smalik. After having been an autonomous part of Bowdani for several centuries, it unilaterally declared independence in 308 AP. Tak''' (nTaah ƿɛRmmp But) ryyg but aat slt l af slt kə Hək Slt. Paa ro tonot ryf keet rə nəmeevi keet it Boot o ot ƿŋquuvu n tonəpə ro po-nəmeevi keet tyk rə ter rl o 134 EǷ.'' Geography and climate Tak is located in the northern part of Smalik. It borders Caboteniasa to the north, the Coare Republic and Black Bowdani to the west, Western Shore to the south, Kencari and Flovaigne to the southeast, and Lombriguay (part of the Greater Burovian Realm and the Dark Sea in the east. On the southern border the Pearyt Lake is located, which Tak shares with five other nations. The longest river is the Grb, the source of which can be found in the mountains near the Caboteniasan border, but which forms in fact for a large part a natural border with Bowdani. All other rivers in Tak fall into the Grb. Tak is low and flat towards its eastcoast. It is separated from the Western Tak Plains by a mountain range, which (despite hosting Tak's highest mountain Qo (3941m)) is small compared by the mountains in the west, which form a natural border with the Coare Republic and Black Bowdani. History The history of Tak is closely related to those of other peoples and countries on Smalik, especially Bowdani and its predecessor state Kencari, to which it offially belonged for 450 years, from 142 BP to 308 AP. '''''Main article: History of Tak Demographics The estimated number of inhabitants of Tak at the beginning of 318 AP was 75.6 million, 4.1 million of whom live in the capital city of Mɵg. The country's population density is about 94 inhabitants per square kilometer; the estimated population growth in 317 was 2.89%. In general, most of the population is concentrated along (the lower parts of) the river Grb and around the Tak side of the border of Pearyt Lake. Life expectancy is 72.5 years for men and 77.9 years for women. Languages The offical language of Tak is Tak or nTaah Gil, 'the Language of Tak', which is the native language of 97% of the inhabitants of Tak. Especially in the east and in the capital Mɵg there are some descendants of non-Tak who speak either Ingallish (the lingua franca of Bowdani) or (Coastal) Kencari (the language of the dominant tribe in (western) Bowdani, speakers of which can be found in most larger non-Kencari cities in Bowdani, including Mɵg and Lp, that are now part of Tak). Tak, Ingallish and (Azulian) Lendian are the most important languages that are learnt at school. Around 99% of the population is literate, with the most illiterates dwelling among the non-Tak speaking part of the population. The country has three universities, in Grg, Mɵg, and Lp. Religion Some 96% of the Tak adhere to the nature worshipping religion that has been associated with the Tak tribes ever they were first encountered. The rest consider themselves either Cruisanists or atheists/agnostics, whereas the Lendosan philosophical religion of Larism has been on the rise in the last 50 years. Politics The Free States of Tak have a semi-democratic system. While the legislative is entirely elected by the people, the executive is not. Tak is a federative nation, which means that the States have a lot to say about their own internal policies, and within the states, the communities/municipalities. The Druids The Druids (ƿɛVɵla) form some kind of secluded society within the Tak society. Both men and women can be Druids. The word 'Druid' is chosen because the Tak office of Druid is quite, although not entirely, similar to the earth Celtic Druids. The ordinary Druids wander around the area for which they bare responsibility and take care of the balance of nature, wild life (hunting by ordinary citizens of Tak is strictly forbidden; the Druids only hunt if the population of one species grows too large and transferring some of them to other areas is not an option) and especially in smaller villages they also serve as doctors, although 'ordinary' doctors exist as well in Tak. The Druids have a final word in the appointment of executive officials of communities/municipalities; the Druids of one State form together the State's Council of Druids, which appoints the State's First Minister (who then composes the State Government). The State Parliament has to approve of the Druids' choice, but has no say in the choice itself. The State Parliament is allowed to sack the State Government if it doesn't agree anymore with the latter's policies, but this always results in the resolution of the State Parliament itself as well and subsequent parliamentary elections. On the national level the system is quite similar. The States' Councils of Druids each appoint a Chief Druid; together they form the Council of Chief Druids. This Council in its entirety functions as the Head of State of Tak, which means that formally there is not one person who can be considered the Head of State (although in specific cases the Council usually appoints a spokesperson who represents the Council and ex officio the Free States of Tak, although it is generally the Prime Minister who e.g. receives foreign officials). After each parliamentary elecion, the Council of Chief Druids appoints the Prime Minister who then composes the new government, which has to be approved by the national parliament. Since the Druids generally avoid cities and other areas with a large amount of people, they don't often have a connection with the nation's politics. Critics of the system claim that this is a disadvantage and want the Druids to be excluded from the government formation. Those in favour of the system say that the Druids are wise not to care about the political system, as politics are not the only aspect of the nation that matters and by maintaining some distance, they know better what is needed for the country than many politicians. The Druids' choices for Prime Ministers and First State Ministers can therefore be surprising at times, and although they are often cause for intense speculation in politics and the media, the Druids seldomly explain their choices nor is it custom for other citizens of Tak to ask for explanations. Parliament Main article: Political parties of Tak On the national level, a 61-member parliament is elected every five years, although in practise elections take place more frequently. The system used is a variant of proportional representation, with the additional rules that on the national level only parties that are supported in at least 34% of the States' parliaments can compete and no party may get more than 50% of the seats (30), in order to make sure that minority ideologies aren't outnumbered and that one party doesn't get the chance to pass legislation that enables itself to change the system to its own advantage. Of course, on the rare occasion that all people vote for only one party, this rule cannot be applied, but in that case, a parliament gets a mandate for only 1.5 years and the Council of Chief Druids will have the right to veto any proposal that would change the government system of Tak if they aren't convinced that it will be beneficial for the country and its people. Foreign relations Main article: Diplomatic relations of Tak Economy Currency The Sab is the official currency of Tak. It is divided in Sabs (Ϣ), Qots (q) and Kiŋs (Kings, k), with 12 Qots going in 1 Sab and 16 Kiŋs going in 1 Qot (so 192 Kiŋs in 1 Sab). There are coins of 1, 3, 4, and 8 Kiŋs, 1 Qot, half a Ty (= 2 Qots), Ty (= 4 Qots), and banknotes of 1 Sab, a quarter Rŋŋk (= 2 Sabs) and a Rŋŋk (= 8 Sabs). Infrastructure The development of infrastructure in Tak is generally slow because of all kinds of restrictive regulations in order to protect the environment that have been in place already since Tak was still an autonomous part of Bowdani, although the latter overruled local legislation every once in a while whenever it found it necessary, mostly in the eastern part of the country in order to gain better access to Port Frontier (present day Lp). The advantage of slow development is that the structures that are approved and developed are designed to be as useful as possible, so relatively few roads, railroads etc in Tak are considered to have been a waste of money. Roads Tak's highway system (Tak: af rem = 'big street', indicated with B''' numbers, B standing for But = 'State') focuses mainly on the eastern part of the country, where under Bowdani rule the important connection between the Bowdani capital Sky City and Port Frontier (present day Lp) was constructed in the '60s of the 3rd century. Although only the section between Grg and Lp is part of this original route, the highway between Ag and Grg was given the same number ('''B1) after Tak independence. There are three other highways in Tak: B2 from the B1 near Bɵɵk to the city of Ƿəək in the western part of Tak, B3 that will eventually connect the capital Mɵg with the B2 near ƿnRooŋg Daak but has been constructed only half so far, and B4 from Lp to Lombrigay via Taŋ and ƿɛVii Vn. The B4 makes a rather sharp turn near ƿɛVii Vn and a possibility would be to split this highway in two pars with the Lp-ƿɛVii Vn part becoming part of a larger international road between Portescuro (Caboteniasa) and Shepard Bay (Bowdani), and the Lombrigay-ƿɛVii Vn part being extended to the B1 near Hoop. In August 316 a plan was launched by a Tak government minister for a Central-Smalik Highway between Caboteniasa and Bowdani or even Davenport, through the western part of Tak. In Tak, this highway would connect Sef in the north and Ag in the south via Ƿəək in the mid-west. Railroads When the first railroads were built in Tak under Bowdani rule in the 50s of the 2nd century, the noisy and smokey steam engines were regarded with distrust by the indigenous Tak and apart from a few railway connections in the eastern part of the country, the possibilities of railroads in Tak weren't explored for many decades. After the first electric trains made their appearance however, this view changed and in the 60s of the 3rd century the railroad network was expanded significantly throughout the country. According to some, the modern trains are far better for the environment than cars or aircraft and the latest government plans include the construction of a high speed network that should connect the country's six larger cities. In 308 AP, after the Tak government unilaterally declared independence, the railroads in Tak that were previously owned by two Bowdani private companies were nationalised by the Tak government. The Hə ti ƿɛMoot Nab it Tak (HMNT, Association for the Iron Tracks of Tak) is the government organisation that is currently responsible for the Tak railway network. Airports There are two international airports in Tak: nəMɵɵɣa Har Nəəp tog ƿɛSllt kə Sat ob Ƕrt (the International Airport "Sat ob Ƕrt" near Mɵg) and nLlf Har Nəəp tog ƿɛSllt (the International Airport near Lp). Transport Although there has been strong resistance among Tak against cars for private use since the day they were invented and introduced in Bowdani, almost every family in Tak is now in possession of a car. Developments to make cars less damaging for the environment are watched with great interest by Tak politicians and entrepreneurs, with Tak often functioning as an unofficial test location for supposedly environment friendly engines. Vehicle registration The Tak number plate system is as listed in the table below. It was first introduced in 310 in order to replace the Bowdani number plates, many of which are however still in use. Both the alphabet and the hexadecimal system of the Tak language allow for more combinations, with Ɛ, Ə, Ɵ, Ɣ, Ƕ, Ŋ, Ƿ, next to Ѧ (10), Ѣ (11), Ҩ (12), Δ (13), Є (14), and Ҕ (15) adding thirteen extra symbols to the list. The state code refers to the official codes for each State of Tak. Flying There is a national airline company, ƿɛHaru Nab it Tak (HNT, Tak Airlines), which only serves airports in Tak at the moment, due to the limited international recognition of Tak by other nations. The best known private airline company with Tak origins but registered in another country is ƿɛKuub Vɵl (The Flying Druids), which operates a scheduled service between Mɵg and (mainly) cities in Longerath. Society People Main article: Tak Who is Who? Sports The two most popular sports in Tak are cricket and rugby. National and subnational competitions for both sports are organised on a regular and frequent basis and most national teams/sides have a huge fan base (including some hooliganism especially in the rugby scene). Far behind follow other sports, such as hockey, road cycling, triathlon, Tak football, and car racing. Main article: Football in Tak Main article: Rugby in Tak Main article: Car racing in Tak Culture and religion Tak culture test Tak culture test Time and calendar The Tak have their own calendar starting in 2068 BP (marking the mythical Assembly of the Druids that is supposed to be the foundation of Tak's nature worshipping religion, although historians assume that this was a gradual development and that no such Assembly took place in reality) and according to which the year 2386 (hexidecimally 952) started on 29 September 318. Although the Tak calendar is still used by a few people, it hasn't any official status; the international Plague-calendar is used instead. The Tak calendar was officially abolished already when Tak was annexed by Kencari in 142 BP, and replaced by their Orthodox Cruisanist calendar, which was in turn replaced by the Plague-calendar in 53 AP. The Tak year consists of sixteen months, and a Tak week consists of eight days. The 'weekend' is considered to be the last two days of the week (Mp kə Qam 'Day of Fire', and Mp kə Səl 'Day of the Earth'), but the preceding day Mp kə ƿɛVɵla ('Day of the Druids') is also part of the weekend when it's the last one before the end of the month. The year always starts on the first Mp kə Qam after the vernal equinox; in 318 AP this was the 29th of September. The first fifteen months have a fixed amount of days ranging from 22 to 24; the sixteenth month has a number of days that is needed to reach the next year, which can be as many as 27 or as few as 19, so the total duration of each year can be different. Days of the week The traditional eight days of the week are: Mp kə ƿɛSyyd ƿnəNnsa (SN, Day of the Animals of the Forest), Mp kə ƿɛSyyd ŋHaar (SH, Day of the Animals of the Air), Mp kə ƿɛǷeeg (Ƿg, Day of the Trees), Mp kə ƿɛSyyd ƿnLɛɛhi (SL, Day of the Animals of the Waters), Mp kə ƿOoŋ Tot (OT, Day of the Natural Spirits), Mp kə ƿɛVɵla (Vɵ, Day of the Druids), Mp kə Qam (Qm, Day of Fire), and Mp kə Səl (Sə, Day of the Earth). The modern seven days of the week are: Mp kə Fod (Sunday), Mp kə Ky (Monday), Mp kə Oŋ (Nature-day = Tuesday), Em Mp (Middle Day = Wednesday), Mp kə Har (Air-day = Thursday), Mp kə Lɛɛk (Water-day = Friday), and Mp kə ƿɛVɵla (Druids' Day = Saturday). Months of the year The traditional sixteen months of the year are: Rɛt, Sn, Vod, Sot Mp, Seg, Gəb, Or, Ŋɵt, Ze, Rul, Qab, Sot Dnk, Naak, Qyyt, Soŋ, and Sog. The modern twelve months of the year are: Rab (January), Oot (February), Rul (March), Ƿs (April), Ɣok (May), Qyyt (June), Dnnt Kyyk (July), Qam (August), Sn (September), Qul (October), Ty (November), and Gəb (December). The four seasons *Sn (spring) *Gəb (summer) *Rul (autumn) *Qyyt (winter) Category:Tak Category:Smalik Category:Nations